Tag Archives: Working Class Politics

I have been watching the news today with more than a degree of disbelief. Don’t get me wrong, I do not pretend to actually have any real working knowledge of the banking world, but surely, it won’t do any long-term good to put off the guys who can actually do their jobs, and do them well? I am but a mere lowly paid mortal as are probably most of my readers here, and have more than a healthy degree of dislike for the banker’s bonuses and pay scales in general, BUT, when you are hired to do a job for a set wage, which it would appear Mr Hester was, and then someone, NOT your boss turns around and says, “sorry mate, yes you’ve worked hard and done what was expected of you, but you can’t actually have what was promised you”, then I have a problem with that.

The amounts do defy belief in a way, his bonus alone is more than enough to set me and my son up for life both in security for life and a business of our own, BUT, in a way it is all relative, not one of us would like to take on a job then be told that we won’t be able to have what we are due, would we?

It’s not as though he awarded himself the bonus, a whole board of folks did that, including one notable board member representative from our own UK Government!

I find it incredibly unfair that this poor guy, who has simply set out to achieve what he was paid to do at the end of the day, has been singled out and lambasted by those very same money-grabbing oiks who have systematically claimed whatever they could get away with at our expense.

I did a small straw poll today amongst those of us to whom that bonus alone would have been a lottery win, and not one of them was actually against the guy getting what he was due, despite the vast difference in pay and lifestyle, so to me this is yet another example of a political smokescreen for something else.

Think about it folks, if the leader of RBS quits, ( and who right now could blame him?) who else is going to want to take up the reins, knowing they will get publically bullied and lambasted by guys ( and probably gals) who are already living quite comfortably off the state ( ergo us) and will no doubt have very lucrative ( and secretive) arrangements made in the private sector to fall back on once their political careers are over?

I don’t have an answer to this problem, but do feel for the one poor guy who got picked on to suit someone else’s agenda.

After reading my friends’ blog posts, I am absolutely furious. ANOTHER RADIO 4 RANT , where she vents quite rightly about a radio program where a “panel” reckoned money cannot buy you happiness, ( yeah right, THEY I am sure don’t have to choose between food and heat each week), and her follow-up one here …. I FEEL LIKE I AM SWIMMING IN CUSTARD , where she describes a situation I am sure most of us will sympathise with right now, no matter how thrifty you are or how many extra layers you put on, you cannot win. The more you “save” or skimp on, the higher the costs for the little you do use go!

How DARE the UK Government keep bleating on one hand that “we are all in this together”, when we blatantly are NOT. The bills for THEIR multiple homes are paid for BY US. They say we all have to tighten our belts, it’s all for our own good in the long-term, etc. If that is the case, then why oh why are we STILL donating mega amounts of cash abroad? I was always taught that charity begins at home, the British public is extremely charitable when we need to be, all on our own, we do NOT need to be forced into it. IF we are all feeling a bit more wealthy, then no doubt we will donate more, ALL BY OURSELVES.

And I am SO sick of the greedy utility companies constantly bleating about their rising wholesale costs, repair bills, taxes, you name it, they invent it, then seeing their quarterly PROFIT statements rising ever higher. Now correct me if I am wrong here, but aren’t profits listed AFTER outgoings?

And if all these so-called “Green” taxes are supposed to be helping our environment, then what exactly are they being spent on?

Is there some huge “air cleaning machine” somewhere out there that we don’t know about yet?

And please, don’t anyone dare tell me it goes on alternative energy, because with all the subsidies that those companies get paid they are NOT real alternatives they are more profit-making (and environment destroying) devices.

It really wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if it comes out in a few years time that all these so-called “green” government ministers also had huge shareholds in these “wonderful” new schemes that we are forced to pay for whilst we go without heating, lights, and in far too many cases these days, food!

Do these suited, well-heeled clowns actually KNOW or care that our own old folk, many of whom fought for our country in years gone by, will most likely die this winter, AGAIN?

Do they know or care that far too many people who are already on the bread-line will simply get forgotten and end up on the streets, purely because their meagre incomes cannot keep up with the rising costs?

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for fair taxes and paying our way BUT PLEASE politicians, you are leaching the lifeblood from our country mainly from those who do the hardest work and can ill afford the relentless hits!

Going back to my friends’ post on the radio show, yes, I am afraid money CAN buy you happiness, it can sure take the stress out of everyday life, allow for a few treats like a hot meal now and then, and make you feel secure, if only in your home and basic living standards, but hey, isn’t that something else our government keeps insisting on as well, somewhat contradictorially? Eat well, live well?

Let us keep just a little bit more of our hard-earned and maybe, just maybe, we will be able to do just that!

I am sitting here watching the news in a near state of total disbelief.

It has ended with the news that our “beloved” government is actually going to put people’s lives at risk and go ahead with the closure of eight key-placed and much-needed Coastguard Stations around the UK ( news here )

They also intend on repeating the same mistakes they made at OUR expense with the centralised Fire and Police Control Centres, that got built, furnished then abandoned after MILLIONS was wasted on them, by doing the same thing all over again with the Coastguard service.

I wonder if they’d be so quick to do this if they didn’t have the salary/back-up for THEIR family should they need it?

What has incensed me beyond measure was the first part of the news… with reference to this self-same government wanting even MORE money from our pockets (news here) for themselves.

Apparently, having more than a decent salary each, and being able to claim for even a kitchen sink on their expenses sheets on top of their wages, not to mention all those tasty kick-backs ( just read anything on the climate/so-called Green energy debates HERE ) simply isn’t enough for them anymore.

Once upon a time I honestly believed that MP’s were there to serve the people who voted for them, who actually cared about their country and wanted to make a difference. This was some time ago. From what I have seen in the last 30 odd years, they simply wish to line their own pockets in any way they can. Do any of them care that tonight for instance, due to the ridiculously rising costs of household utilities, not to mention food prices, I actually had to choose NOT to have a hot meal?

My money goes on the rent once a week, and what is left gets divided into 7 equal portions, then each day’s worth gets broken down again into gas, water, electricity, food etc.

There was nothing reduced in any of the five supermarkets I walked around today, over a period of 3 hours, ( there are so few where I am), and for me to have paid “full-price” for anything edible, it would have meant not enough change left over with which to cook whatever I had chosen!

Yes, I am one of the lower end of the scale, but HELLO Dear Government, there is an ever-increasing number of folks just like me out there, we actually DO try to do our bit, and STILL get financially stamped on every time one of you makes a grand decision over your glass of champagne in your fancy restaurant.

Maybe if we didn’t collectively have to pay so much for YOUR lifestyles, we’d actually be able to get by!

With the other recent news regarding the so-called Industry Fat Cats getting huge salaries, I cannot help thinking we’d all be better off in the UK if we fired ALL government ministers and simply hired the best brains in industry to run the various departments instead!

So, anything the government doesn’t like, it appears to block? lol who’d have thought it!

While these government petitions are probably more smoke and mirrors, there is an apparent pledge to debate those that reach 100000 signatures in parliament. If the country wants to be kick started then removing these unnecessary and punitive green taxes from all fuel costs will go some way to making all goods and services cheaper and allowing the common man to become mobile again Please sign it if you can. If nothing else seeing those in parli … Read More

These posts have stemmed from a debate that was started accidentally elsewhere, and although it had started getting a bit personal there, it has raised some interesting questions, and some further areas I would like to explore, and I feel the subject deserves an airing here. I will make it fairly easy to respond to any section that you wish to by numbering various points that were made,do feel free to add your views but do try to keep them general and free from swearing please!

Most of these unless otherwise stated are my own personal views and I will NOT take it personally if you disagree, in fact that would make for a healthy all-round discussion. I would like to add here that I was one of the privileged high-earners and big spenders myself untill the UK’s industry took a huge nose-dive, so I do know what it’s like from both sides of the fence!

I will happily approve all comments that follow the above remit, whether you agree or disagree with any comments made here! 🙂

And any tips you may have, even if you are NOT from the UK, may well help somebody somewhere so do feel free to join in, wherever you are based!

1. My favourite comment, which keeps coming up time and time again, in all forms of media, has to be to one whereby you are not supposed to even think of having children unless you are in a very stable financial position, and have the house, job, car etc, all neatly in place before you start a family. Ok, we all read those headline stories of people on benefits supposedly deliberately having more and more children in order to get bigger council houses and/or more benefits money given to them, but really………these are in a definate minority. Most of us struggle on a daily basis to balance areas of our lives, and I think I speak for most single parents like myself here, we did not CHOOSE to be either pregnant or alone in many cases. It’s as much my fault that I did not have a crystal ball when choosing my ex-partner ( BabyMib’s Dad) as it is the UK government’s fault that it chose to bail out those already wealthy bankers to all our detriments!

2. “Wait untill the right time” gets advised again and again, so when IS the right time?

Given that so many jobs these days simply aren’t the “jobs for life” that they once were, and the housing market is spiralling way past the average working person’s ability to contemplate, a lot of couples could simply wait forever and still not attain the “required” positions in life to have a family. I personally do not believe that having children needs to cost a huge amount of money,and waiting too long will cause huge complications healthwise and also massive NHS bills for IVF treatments etc. So long as there is a roof over your heads and food on the table, the main ingredient required is LOVE, and seeing one parent go out to work regularly, even for a part-time job, creates a great work ethic. My personal plan now is to move to a better location, get some kind of part-time job AND start a small business from home that my son can also get involved with. The “right time” surely is when you feel ready in your soul, NOT when you might or might not have all the trappings in place. If that was the case, then only the politicians and rich celebrities would be able to raise families!

3. For all those who watch the news or read the papers and tut profusely whenever a single parent or family is being slated for having some million pound “mansion” on benefits, do please remember these are minorities, it has been a long long time since single young mums were preferenced for council accomodation and help, nowadays deciding NOT to kill your unborn child is proving to be a brave decision for a lot of people, it’s hard work, for the majority of familes far from a “lifestyle” choice, and with the actual fertility rates dropping in the Western world, quite possibly should be applauded not berated. What we do need to see are far more flexible jobs, where people can work part-time, job-share and the like, and of course for the fat cats at the top to help us “all be in this together” by not making quite so much of a profit out of our misery!

These posts have stemmed from a debate that was started accidentally elsewhere, and although it had started getting a bit personal there, it has raised some interesting questions, and some further areas I would like to explore, and I feel the subject deserves an airing here. I will make it fairly easy to respond to any section that you wish to by numbering various points that were made,do feel free to add your views but do try to keep them general and free from swearing please!

Most of these unless otherwise stated are my own personal views and I will NOT take it personally if you disagree, in fact that would make for a healthy all-round discussion. I would like to add here that I was one of the privileged high-earners and big spenders myself untill the UK’s industry took a huge nose-dive, so I do know what it’s like from both sides of the fence!

I will happily approve all comments that follow the above remit, whether you agree or disagree with any comments made here! 🙂

And any tips you may have, even if you are NOT from the UK, may well help somebody somewhere so do feel free to join in, wherever you are based!

1. Another assertion made today in the park of all places when I was casually chatting to a small group of older folks was that there are always jobs out there to be had, so long as you weren’t fussy about hard work, the general consensus amongst the retired seems to be that the youth of today simply don’t want to work. That wouldn’t be because for years the older generation extolled the virtues of studying hard at school, then going to university, getting horribly into debt and you would be guaranteed a well-paid job would it?

2. Also mentioned was the “fact” that anyone can find a job if you try hard enough……I personally know several people who do nothing but job-hunt continuously, only to be told they are too old, too overqualified, too young, not enough experience, you name it they’ve been told it. I myself have been hunting hard for ANYTHING and I do mean anything, this month alone in between the usual batch of bogus “sales rep” jobs that require you to pay to work, ( yes, these are actually allowed to be advertised in Jobcentres!) there were four potential new jobs shown, all of which I applied for, none of which were either full-time nor permanent, and not one offered enough to cover the rent for a room let alone normal basic living costs for a family!

Oh, and the responses I got from these would-be employers, AFTER I followed the applications I had made, ranged from ” we are looking for someone to live-in and our shared rooms are not child-friendly, sorry”, to “we don’t consider someone of your age-group to be suitable to work in a nightclub” ( and yes, they actually said this on the telephone!)

3. There are, to put it simply, far more adults of working age around these days compared to say, 30 years ago, and when you have a worldwide climate of recession, with the ensuing large number of companies going under, the amount of work available is going to diminish under the tidal wave of people needing employment. Yes, there are a few, especially in the UK, who deem some jobs to be simply beneath them, but despite the continuous and biased news reports about people claiming benefits, overall most people simply want to be able to go out and earn an honest living and be able to pay their way. And the few companies that are in a position to hire are spoilt for choice when it comes to applicants and are fully able and willing to be as choosy as they like!

4. I personally feel that a lot of the Red Tape that has been put into place in recent times needs to be lifted, allow people to job-share if that suits them, don’t tax low-income families, and actually make that no-tax ceiling realistically in line with the basic cost of living. Companies might then be able to afford to hire more people than they currently can, more people would be able to do something to get themselves headed in the right direction and overall, if people have a little more to spend, spend they will therefore keeping production lines going along nicely, ad infinitum!